New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-07-03
on 10 only in the moruiut But lost me pay Tor the
day intIre and don't want no more of It,"

/
Trade 10 dull now ell around. and eve full days q
week enough fer almost any houses business. no
1t is rather hard to zee where the short hours are
| going to pinch most when business IL looking up
| again. The views of dozen or two representative
| busiuess men taken at ra6dom in different lines OF
trade are tumbled together below to give some iln-
| partA idea of how the halt holiday law 10 working
| GAN the downtown Exchanges close now at noon,
| YOU know" said a produce broker, and we have to
rush through our orders pretty briskly Saturdays.
| STILL brokers' hours are short any way, and we can
probably coDdense work more easily than the whole
sale nen. don't notice great deal OF difference.
| Yes there's one thing We used to hurry out about
IL o'clock for lunch at a stand-up counter Now
see q good many brokers Ion out leisurelY affei
Change closes and take a high-hyer lunch at the
Hoffman or Delmonico's. Plenty of salads with caret
and champagne, instead of beer and SANDWICH
| Better for the digestion You know"
"Well, now, these lunches are good thing In the
way of encouraging slower business habits" broke In
another.
aCome off, old man. Just wait till you married"
But the broker did say, when he grew serious again,
that ne didn't how the early closing could be Kept
up all around after October.
We don't miss the half-holiday now" said men,
Der of one of tho big hard firms in Broadway.
g And we can get along through July and August
without any trouble. After that have my doubts
about it. AS things % there practically only
five days in the week. The house isn't open Tor any
business OF consequence until 10 O. nj. VI course
opened earlier than that 1t takes from halfhour to
an hour to read the letters and sort them. Then
the sent to the order clerk he gets the hrst
about IL o'clock. They don't reach the shipping
clerk, however, till nearly And II the house
close promI y at noon, how are the orders to get
through in time to the factory They go over to
Monday when wc stick to the early closing rule. But
IN the busy season such delays could never be toll
Grated.
at seems to me that 1t would have been better
.bAlo hAitI hraQ NO nf
business on Friday night and not taking 1t up again
until Monday morning. The heads OF big houses have
found almost useless to stay in town for Saturday
mornings work, and ] think they would be just as
willing to give the clerks the whole day through July
arr August as the afternoon simply. In the fall,
winter aud spring it will be hard TO give either There
will be a good deal of friction In October when the
business houses will want to open again for the whole
six days. And really 1t seems unreasonable to ASK
anybody let his affairs sliD for an extra day all the
wear round The run of business must determine such
things largely. And the hafholiday will be found a
rather serious obstacle when rsde gets fairly started
again.
I'VE make no reduction in wages for the halliday
OF. The men are paid of course by the week. month
or year Most of employees live in NewJersey and
BROOKLYN. We haven't found the two days vacation
at all demorslizing, and have no objection on that
score TO halt holidays all the year round The clerks
feel rather more like working wheE they come In on
Mondays"
GYou ma, put me down as a convert" said a benev-
olent old gentleman little further up the street and
In the wholesale drygooas district ~ never thought
that the plan would succeed. was brought up on
long hours and hard work and old men doh't like
innovations anyway. But the early closing went
through easily enough when We tried 1t last summer
AND shouldn't be surprised II 1t kept up through
the year. It's all a matter OF habit People get
used to buying during the week. Concentration In
business matters ia what We need, We could do the
same amount OF buying and selling IN fewer hours, If
it we're only agreed generally that the stores should
open later and close earlier The real business hours
are shor tening, getting down, with the retail
houses toward the limits set by the banks and ex-
ait is q good thing ON the whole that there should
be some letup in business. We ind the clerks do
better work after the hatholiday. There can be no
objection, / think, TO closing early during the hot
months. Business Is slack that don't uliss the
halt day. and the clerks seem to get lot OF enjoy
ment out OF It, good many OF our men are given to
Healthy for them" and the old gentleman smiled
again encouraginsly.
through the September asd October rush safely we
shall close early Saturdays tor the rest OF the winter"
The head Of big retail dry goods house in Broad
way had an opinion that leaned the other way Here
ia what he said:
awe have kept open al usual up to the last Satur-
day in June, but shall close during July and August
Everything has gone oloug satisfactorily so faI.
Business Is naturally dull now. 1t always sackens
from the middle Of June till the middle September,
and really get along comfortably with only
five DAYS and half week There is almost shop
ping on Saturdays, anyway in the dog-day season.
But by the end OF September it will bs hard to keep
up with the increase OF custom and still give up halt
OF Saturday don't TO say that the halfholi-
day movement will not turn out success In the end
Such things accommodate themselves to custom. II
others we're trade to speak OF on Saturday alter
noon, should close all the year. We do ID sum-
ner. The movement may be strong enough to set a
sort of fashion for people who shop like the London
one In that case the big stores will all close, as
matter Of course IL the trade comes back IN the fall
We shall keep open IL not. not
@The present hOnrs arc nothing compared with |
what they used to be. can remember when the dry
goods stores used to open at o'clock In the morning
and keep open till 8 o'clock at night There was no
talk of holidays and overwork then Now scarcely
begin real business until 10 q. and everything Is
over at p. IN. / am heartily In favor OF Saturday
closing in the hot months Then the clerks get of
into the country to extent. But what are they
to do with the afternoon 10 wintert Merely loaf
The worst abuses IN business nowadays bear on the
day and piece workers. and they get no benefit at all
from the law. To lose half day iB to lose The
par often Tor the whole ten OF twelve hours
doubt whether balfholiday will be of any real
value to the men after the summer is over Tho
but London has vastly greater resources In the way
of instruction and amusement. The law ought TO be
Snsed 80 az TO
forcement OF the hall holiday will be in the end not
matter OF law but OF custom II the shoppers fal Oh,
as said before, the stores will not stay open long,
In Tiaany's notice has been posted up conspicu-
ously to the effect that the store will be closed on
Saturday afternoons from June IS to September IL
inclusive. One of the representatives OF the firm
pointed to the card in reply to question about tho
balf-holiday movement
ave have decided to close for the hot months" he
continued because the state of trade ID town will
allow It, From the middle of June until the out-of-
town season begins to break up, business Is so light
that we don't miss a halliday badly September even
of onr customers come back then, and many more
who live in the West and South, passing through
the city on their way home from the New England